South Devon Railway Company
| Locale | England |
|---|---|
| Dates of operation | 1846–1876 |
| Successor | Great Western Railway |
| Track gauge | 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) |
| Length | 52.85 mi (85.05 km) excluding branches |
| Headquarters | Plymouth |
The South Devon Railway Company built and operated the railway from Exeter to Plymouth and Torquay in Devon, England. It was a 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) broad gauge railway built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel.
The line had to traverse difficult hilly terrain, and the Company adopted the atmospheric system in which trains were drawn by a piston in a tube laid between the rails, a vacuum being created by stationary engines. The revolutionary system proved to have insuperable technical difficulties and was abandoned. The line continued as a conventional locomotive railway. The Company promoted a number of branches, through the medium of nominally independent companies.
Its original main line between Exeter and Plymouth remains in use today as an important part of the main line between London and Plymouth.
First thoughts of a railway connecting Plymouth to Exeter were discussed from 1826, but the first definite proposal came when a meeting of potential promoters in 1840 resolved to build a direct route between the cities. They chose the direct route over two suggested longer routes, which were similar to the Teignmouth and Okehampton routes that were actually built later. Their preferred line was to be 37 miles (60 km) long, climbing to 1,190 feet (363 m) and would pass through very sparsely inhabited terrain; there were to be three rope-worked inclines and two long tunnels, and the construction cost was to be £770,781. This ambitious scheme was presented to Parliament as a Bill on 29 February 1840, but got no further there. Its supporters continued to argue in its favour, but the more practical scheme via Newton soon gained favour.
The failure of this scheme did not suppress the enthusiasm in Plymouth for a railway, and this was heightened as the Bristol and Exeter Railway (B&ER) was constructing its broad gauge line. The Great Western Railway (GWR) and the B&ER were working in close harmony, and were known as the Associated Companies, forming a powerful broad gauge interest in railways. Supporters of what soon became the Plymouth, Devonport and Exeter Railway Company saw that financial support might be available from the Associated Companies, and so it proved, subject to substantial capital (£500,000) being raised locally as well, and that any chosen alignment in Plymouth would be suitable for later extension into Cornwall.
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